The placement of inserts within flexible packaging has long been and continues to be an important means of identifying and marketing products. The actual methods employed, the when and how descriptions, for precise placement and registration of inserts has produced numerous patents and other art. Representative of these are means to establish and maintaining proper registration of the insert as the package is built around it, strategies to clear failures with minimal operational delay, methods of material changeover without production shutdown, approaches to reduce material wastage, and techniques to avoid package spoilage where insert placement adversely effects marketability. More effective means offering solutions to these and other problems are continually being sought as novel improvements to the packaging art.
One example of current prior art representative of such means is where an article is stuck to a web surface that eventually becomes the interior of a flexible package as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,575 to Vonderhorst et al. Therein Vonderhorst describes an operation where an article is attached to a moving web of film that is subsequently folded, formed into a package, filled with product, then sealed and cut from the web to form a single package with the article and product both sealed within. The key patentable feature in is that the article is attached to the web by adhesive means just before the fold operation creates the package tube so there is little opportunity for the article to be displaced or dislodged by subsequent web manipulations in building the enveloping package. Vonderhorst recites a history of problems associated with other methods of insert placements commonly found in a packaging operations characterized as vffs (vertical-form-fill-seal) machines and lays the basis for novel claims overcoming previous limitations.
However, the Vonderhorst solution of sticking an article on the web before web modification creates new concerns. The article must be adaptable to receiving and maintaining a quick acting adhesive of sufficient strength to securely attach the article to the web; not all articles have this adaptability. The adhesive should not disfigure the article or the package material; few adhesive have this characteristic. The adhesive must not contaminate or damage in any way the product sealed within the package; adhesive are notorious for affecting products like food with off flavors. The article may require removal from the package for a further use such as with coupons; an adhesive strip on the article is undesirable. The article may be designed to freely move within the enclosed product only constrained by the package boundaries; adhesive attachment prevents this marketing feature. Alternatively, the article's adhesive hold on the interior wall may interact with the product, detach from the interior wall, pickup product on the adhesive, and move freely within the package; a detached, hidden insert with clumps of product stuck to its adhesive somewhat negates its purpose and value. These and other disadvantages indicate there are still unresolved problems within the prior art.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an apparatus and method for applying articles such as inserts within flexible packages, like packets, which ensures accurate and secure registration while maintaining efficient packet building, successful product filling, and secure sealing in a standard packaging operation like vffs. The present invention recognizes the foregoing prior art and specifically addresses their individual and collective shortcomings and disadvantages.